Apparatus for electrically recording signals



(No Model.)

P. B. WOOD. APPARATUS FOR BLECTRIGALLY RECORDING SIGNALS.

No. 420,852. Patented Feb. 4, 1890.

INVENTOR BY Mad-7 3% AR; ATTORNEY NY nuns. mq-Lmwr. wwmm. n. c

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

'FRANK B. \VOOD, OF NEWV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE ll. S. GREELEY & COMPANY, OF CONNECTICUT.

APPARATUS FOR ELECTRICALLY RECORDING SIGNALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,852, dated February 4, 1890.

Application filed September 23, 1889. Serial No. 324,733. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK B. WOOD, of the city, county, and State of New York, a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Electrically Recording Signals, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description,'reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention consists in the combination, in an electrical signaLrecording instrument, of the devices hereinafter particularly described and as more at length recited in the printing upon said tape the signs or figures indicating the time at or about which the signal is received and recorded, singly or in repetition, in the succession and order to representby the impressions thus made the number of the signal given, transmitted, and recorded.

Figure l is an elevation of an electrical recording-instrument containing my invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan or face view of a recording tape or medium bearing signals imprinted thereon in accordance with my improved method.

I11 the mechanism herein shown the timeindicating device comprises a minute-regis tering wheel A, having upon its periphery divisional faces equal in number to the intervals during an hour which it is desired to indicate upon the record ing-tape T. This wheel is herein shown with sixty such faces, one for each minute of an hour; but the faces may be of such number as to indicate intervals of five, ten, fifteen, or other number of minutes.

B is an hour registering wheel, having twenty-four divisional faces on its periphery, one for each hour of a day. The said faces of wheels A and B bearin succession type indicating, respectively, the number of the minute and hour and a sign or letter distinguishing the ante meridian and post meridian hours. These wheels are mounted to rotate on a common shaft, and each has fixed to ita ratchet a Z), respectively, said ratchets having each the number of peripheral teeth corresponding to the number of peripheral faces on their respective wheels A B. On the periphery of the ratchet a is the deep notch a immediately beyond the tooth thereon, which is in line with the peripheral face of wheel A, indicating the final minute of the series or succession thereon, said face being also in line with one of the faces on the hour-wheel B. The ratchets are controlled by spring-detents b, as shown.

C and C are pawls to the ratchets a and b, respectively, and are pivoted independently to the armature m of a magnet M, and are pivotally united by a link 0, which is of such a length that when the pawl C is riding the ratchet a the pawl C will be held free of engagement with the ratchet b and until pawl C enters the notch a 011 ratchet a, when such movement of said pawl will permit pawl C to engage a tooth 011 ratchet b. The pawls are pressed to engagement with their ratchets by a spring 0, as shown.

The magnet M is in a local circuit N with a timepiece, as shown, which is provided with a circuit-closing wheel I), of any ordinary pattern, having a number of peripheral contact-points equal to the number of teeth on ratchet a. The closing of circuit N at intervals by wheel D in the time-piece will vibrate the armature m, and thus cause the pawl C to rotate the wheel A at each vibration the distance of one of its peripheral faces; and in like manner, when the pawl C enters notch a on ratchet a, which it will do at the conclusion of each complete revolution of wheel A, the vibration of armature we will, by the engagement of pawl C with ratchet 1), cause the rotation of both the wheels A and B the distance of one of the peripheral faces of each The sums of the rotations of wheel A will thus be indicated on wheel 13, so that the faces of said wheels which are in line with each other immediately above the reeach ratchet bears the described number of teeth, the teeth upon both ratchets will be of the same or equal length or pitch.

An inking-ribbon I is interposed between the peripheral faces of wheels A and B and the recording-tape, and m is an armature carrying the printing-pad m serving to effect the printing upon said tape.

The well-known devices common in Morse registers may be employed to actuate the armature m and move the reeording-tape namely, a clock-work train, as shown, having an eseapement a and its pallet a, a frictionlever n with its arm a bearing against the face of the drum of the clock-train and engaging a stop-pin a on the escapement-shaft, together with a magnet M in a local circuit N, which is closed by a relay N when a signal is transmitted from the main-line circuit N and an arm 72 on the armature 911,,which engages the friction-lever n and oscillates it to release the stop-pin when said local circuit N is closed.

To check the moveinen tor feed of the tape after the pin a has been released and while the signal is coming in, so that the vibrations of armature m may effect the proper printing of the signal, I employ a lever E, one arm 6 of which is pivotally attached to an arm or extension 011 the armature m by a pin 6, working in a slot in said arm, as shown, and

the other arm e of which is adapted to en-,

gage the heel of the pallet it when said armature is vibrated to effect the printing.

A spring 6 may be employed to assist in lifting the arm 6 from engagement with pallet n when the armature is retracted on the:

opening of the circuit.

At each vibration of the armature m on the closing of circuit N during the passage of a signal from the main line the lever E will engage the pallet n, and thus check the feed of the tape T at the instant that the printing-pad "m is carried against the timewheels, and that at each succeeding retraction of said armature and so long as the circuit is open said lever will disengage said pallet, and therefore permit the tape to feed. By this means the number of impressions of the type on the time-wheels made upon the recording-tape will correspond to and be in.

such succession and groups as will represent the number of the signal sent in from the main line. By this means I am enabled to represent or register the signals upon the tape by imprinting upon said tape the signs or figures indicating the time at or about which the signal is received and recorded,

singly or in repetition, in the succession and order to indicate by the impressions thus made the number of the signal received. For example, if the signal 34: is received at one oclock and thirty-five minutes in the afternoon, I imprint upon the tape the sign and figures P. 1.35 three times in succession, and then, after an interval or space, four times in succession, so that said three and four impressions 011 the tape indicate the number thirty-four, as shown on the tape in the drawings. Similarly a signal 23 will be printed on the tape if received at one oclock and forty-five minutes in the afternoon, as shown in the drawings, Fig. 2.

I do not claim herein my improved method of recording electrical signals, which consists in imprinting upon a recording medium the figures indicating the time at or about which the signal is received and recorded in a succession of impressions corresponding in number and relative location to and representing the number of the signal, but reserve the same herein, as the same has been made the actuating mechanism may be employed in connection with the herein-described signalprinting mechanism.

\Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In an electrical recording-instrument, the combination,with the time-indicating device and its actuating mechanism and the signal receiving device and its actuating mechanism, adapted to co-operate, substantially as described, with said time-indicatin g device to record a signal, of a lever E, one arm e of which is pivotally connected at e to the armature of the magnetof the actuating mechanism of said signal-receiving device, and the other arm e of which is adapted to engage and disei'igage the pallet a, working to the escapement n of said actuating mechanism, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FRANK 1 W001). Witnesses:

ARDEN S. FITCH, A. 'l. FALES. 

